PersonalProjectSamHart: February 2016

definition of child grooming

Online Grooming by Pedophiles. Grooming is defined as "actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, in order to lower the child's inhibitions in preparation for sexual activity with the child".

stories about grooming online safety

http://www.scotsman.com/news/children-s-internet-safety-a-father-s-story-1-2822663

http://www.dorset.police.uk/default.aspx?page=3644

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/i-groomed-online-abducted-chained-4684151

Over 90% of sexually abused children were abused by someone they knew

http://news.sky.com/story/1581959/how-my-son-became-an-online-grooming-victim

https://www.childline.org.uk/Play/GetInvolved/Pages/Charlotte%E2%80%93my-experience-of-online-grooming.aspx

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/breck-bednar-murder-online-grooming-gaming-lorin-lafave

http://www.childnet.com/resources/jennys-story

http://www.itsnotokay.co.uk/what-is-it/real-stories/student-jailed-for-grooming-young-girls-on-the-internet/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9411679/Sexual-grooming-up-by-a-fifth.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fake-justin-bieber-robert-hunter-2277377

Robert Hunter, 35, used the star’s identity and other fake teenage boy personas to dazzle hundreds of child victims worldwide.

He encouraged them to strip naked and perform sex acts on webcam – then threatened them with exposure and violence if they told.

Hunter, of Middlesbrough, was finally traced by police in Tasmania after one of his young victims complained.

At Teesside Crown Court, he admitted 15 charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and 14 of making indecent photos of children.

http://www.thinkuknow.org/14_plus/ where to go if you need advice.

more research

Online grooming

Groomers can use social media sites, instant messaging apps including teen dating apps, or online gaming platforms to connect with a young person or child.

They can spend time learning about a young person’s interests from their online profiles and then use this knowledge to help them build up a relationship.

It’s easy for groomers to hide their identity online - they may pretend to be a child and then chat and become ‘friends’ with children they are targeting.

Groomers may look for:

usernames or comments that are flirtatious or have a sexual meaning
public comments that suggest a child has low self-esteem or is vulnerable.

Groomers don’t always target a particular child. Sometimes they will send messages to hundreds of young people and wait to see who responds.

Groomers no longer need to meet children in real life to abuse them. Increasingly, groomers are sexually exploiting their victims by persuading them to take part in online sexual activity.

There were 7,296 counselling sessions with young people who talked to ChildLine about online bullying and safety last year

Almost 1 in 4 young people have come across racist or hate messages online.

CEOP estimates that there were around50,000 individuals in the UK involved in downloading and sharing indecent images of children during 2012.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show police recorded a total of 372 incidents of grooming in England and Wales last year.

That was up 20 per cent on the 309 incidents recorded in 2010/11.

What Do Predators Do?

Predators who take part in child grooming often use the same tactics to reach their victims. Some of the common behaviors of the predator can include:

Manipulating the child’s thinking by becoming someone they think they can trust
Exploiting natural sexual curiosity
Driving a wedge between the victim and their family and friends
Complimenting the child often
Making promises of a better life
Asserting control over the child
Affirming their feelings and lending a sympathetic ear
Reassuring against insecurities

These behaviors are designed to build that level of trust required to allow for sexual assaults to happen. However, these predators won’t hesitate to revert to threatening behavior if they feel the child won’t comply or is second guessing the relationship.